As the siblings walked through the crowded streets of Tyre, Lucian couldn't help but feel impressed by the city around him. It was not as huge as London was in his third life, but it was more vibrant and lively. Compared to his fourth life, the lack of cars and technology made everything feel warmer than he was expecting.
There was a huge, wide road that traveled from the front gates deep into the city. It was wide enough for multiple carriages to ride past each other without touching and people swarmed around them without much hassle. On either side of the roads were countless stalls carrying items far and wide.
The different types of people he saw also surprised him. He could also see humans, some with nice tunics and hats and others with rags. There were also a few groups of other species, but they kept to themselves and didn't draw much attention.
Lucian was not a huge fan of crowds. His origin in the jungle and the unfavorable circumstances of war torn or monster infested cities of his following two lives made him automatically uncomfortable.
There were too many stimuli. Too many variables. Too many things that could go wrong. He couldn’t even hyperfocus his senses since it would be too overwhelming. He kept his head down, but his eyes darted all over in an attempt to process everything.
“Lu?” Eleanor questioned, making him look up.
In complete contrast to him, Eleanor seemed perfectly at ease navigating the streets. She effortlessly weaved through the crowds and even had a wry smile on her face. Which really threw Lucian off.
“El?” he questioned back.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I mean. I’m fine, it's just a lot different here than at home. You seem great though, sis. Like you’ve been living here your whole life.”
Rolling her eyes, Eleanor grabbed his sleeve once more.
“I came with Dad to get the priest,” she explained after a moment, tugging on his arm, “Come over here, I remember some places that caught my eye.”
Luckily for him, Eleanor had a pretty good grasp on the directions of the city. She was naturally a reserved person, but she seemed kinda excited to show Lucian foreign foods that he had never tried before - in her own Eleanor way. She would simply hand him a skewer or bowl of something and nod her head and give a thumbs up as she ate.
For her that was the pinnacle of enthusiasm. It was refreshing to see.
She had even led him to a bookstore filled with different novels not available in their hometown. They didn’t have enough money to buy any advance spell tomes or grimoires that she wanted, but Lucian did pick up a sequel for a book he had liked.
Eleanor led Lucian down a narrow, winding path of alleys until they found themselves at a small, quiet area with a shop that seemed almost out of place in the bustling city. As they approached, Lucian noticed the sign above the door reading ‘Bur.’
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, they were greeted by the scent of leather, metal, and wood. The shop was quiet, with only one person manning the counter. He was a dwarf, but to Lucian's surprise, he was not as short as the books made his species out to be - just over five feet tall and only a few inches smaller than he was.
“We’re closing soon, be quick,” the dwarf told them with a heavy accent. He was mindlessly polishing a knife with oil.
Lucian started to look around, but Eleanor walked up to the counter.
“Is this all you really have?” she asked boldly.
The dwarf stopped polishing and stared at her incredulously. “What? Are you crazy, kid? What're you saying with that mouth of yours?” he demanded back.
“Iron. Iron. Iron. One steel sword?” she responded, pointing one by one at swords hanging on the wall. “Aren’t you a Morndak? I expected better for a dwarf from the Mourne Mountains.”
“Uh, El? Can you not antagonize piss off the man holding a knife?” Lucian asked his sister slowly, noticing the dwarf’s jaw drop in shock.
It was quiet for a few moments, before the dwarf erupted into laughter. Lucian just watched, completely confused, as the dwarf laughed so hard he started to cry.
“The balls on you, missy!” he exclaimed as he regained his breath. “Who would’ve thought a little girl like you can talk like that? And you know my people, wow!” he jovially wiped his eyes and gestured to them to follow him.
Leading them into the back of the store he went over to a wall and punched it hard. After a moment the wall shook and receded into the floor, revealing a secret room filled with weapons that made the other room pale in comparison.
The first thing Lucian noticed was the color of each weapon was not the typical iron gray. The blades were not just strewn around in random racks, but neatly ordered. Green, red, blue and purple swords were all over the room.
“Take a look around, you two. I’ll even give ya a discount because you made me laugh so hard!”
Eleanor nodded and silently started to look around. Lucian, not being a weapon connoisseur at all, instead approached the dwarf instead.
“That’s my sister Eleanor, and I’m Lucian,” he introduced, extending his hand. In just a minute, they had ended up from walking through an alley to standing inside a secret weapon shop. He was more interested in who the dwarf was.
“Bur,” the dwarf responded, grabbing his hand and shaking it with vigor. Lucian couldn’t help but be impressed at how strong and firm Bur’s hands were.
“Sorry if El surprised you, she… she is how she is, but I love her all the same.”
Bur laughed heartily. “No worries, Lucian boy! I’d rather that than beating around the bush. I don’t like people who can’t tell iron from steel or sheepskin from cowskin. I never let them back here. The only issue is whenever I sell one of these swords they never break, so the customer never has to come back! I screw myself out of business because I’m too good!”
“So you sell cheaper swords for what you think are cheaper people? And when you see someone who can wield one of your better swords you let them back here?” Lucian inferred.
“Exactly boy. I’ve been crafting for eighty years, twenty of those here in Tyre, and I can spot a true warrior when they enter my shop. They usually don’t come around your age, so I wasn’t going to let you in until that sister of yours ran her mouth!”
They both looked at Eleanor, who was standing in the corner of the room and swinging a sword aimlessly around. Lucian noticed the same hyper focused expression she always had when training at home.
How did she know?
“She is serious about these kinds of things,” he said blandly, realizing that she probably wouldn’t tell him her secrets, “Anyways, sir, you’re over eighty?”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Don’t call me sir, just Bur. And I just turned eighty four recently.”
“Congrats. I know we’re different species, but is it normal to be so spry at eighty four? I thought dwarves only live to one twentyish.”
“It’s because I’m from the Mourne Mountains,” Bur explained, his grin growing as mentioned his home. “Mourne is a terribly harsh mountain range to the northwest. It's where the Khazrad, the extinct progenitors of my race, started. Morndak is what they call mountain dwarves like me, and us from Mourne are the toughest, craftiest dwarves there are. We live much longer and are bigger than any other. My bones tell me I got eighty more years in me.”
“That’s actually extremely fascinating. My dad knows some Nuno, and from what he told me they’re kid sized and wild.”
“Little mutts, they are. Good with trees, but no forest dwarf can make a sword like I can. Take a look, son,” Bur grabbed a light blue sword and showed Lucian, “this is made out of Arcanite. Highly conductive to mana. Even someone your age can channel some energy into this and cut a tree in half. Here, try it.”
Lucian grabbed the sword, admiring its balance and weight, before taking a deep breath and channeling his mana. The blade fed on his internal energy and sprung to life with a silver aura. He swung it in a wide arc. It felt like he could cut the sky apart.
“What a strange color aura,” Bur murmured. “Kid, You seem to be having some trouble with ya left, aren’t ya a righty?”
Lucian held his right arm in the air and let gravity do the rest. Bur’s eyes widened as Lucian’s sleeve collapsed around where the other half of his arm was supposed to be.
“Sorry, Lucian, I should have noticed. My eyes must be failing me.”
“It’s okay, Bur, that's the reason I wear long sleeves. It's been a year. I can write and do other things just fine, but swordsmanship is the hardest to adjust to.”
“What happened?” the dwarf asked bluntly.
“Magic cougar, two of them,” he told, watching Bur wince as he said it. “I got one and El got the other, but I didn’t come out unscathed.”
“They could use magic? Like spells? We’re they fucking huge?” Seeing him nod at every question Bur shook his head in disbelief. “Seen those cats at Mourne Mountains - vicious beasts they are. In Tyre though? That’s not normal. Either someone smuggled them or teleported them over because no cougar can walk that far.”
“We don’t know, but no incidents since.”
“Thank the gods there’s not. They’re no joke, I’m telling you. Well, I guess you already know!” Bur laughed jovially. “Ya kids must be special if you took two of them down!”
“I wish I had this when I fought them,” Lucian said as he admired the sword once more. “Is Arcanite rare? Expensive? I like this.” It was the perfect tool for him, who lacked mana capacity, to use. It took small slithers of his mana and distributed it efficiently.
“Both,” Bur said, making Lucian sigh in disappointment, “It ain’t easy to find these metals, even in the mountains. I moved here to Tyre simply because it’s more likely to find someone selling a rare metal than to dig through a bunch of earth and find some yourself.”
“How often do you come across Arcanite? We came to help find me a new arm. If I could find you some Arcanite would you make me one?” he asked, giving the sword back to Bur.
“I’d love to,” Bur said, setting the sword back where it belonged, “but I can’t. Two things, sonny. One, if some Arcanite did show up, I’d already have it. Two, I’m leaving tomorrow morning back towards the mountains. I’m not too sure when or if I’ll be back.”
“What do you mean by ‘if’, Bur? You’re going somewhere dangerous?”
Bur let out a hearty laugh. Eleanor approached them with a reddish sword and looked on curiously as Bur explained.
“For us dwarves, creating is life. Actually, it’s more than life! Keep this quiet, kiddos, but a rare metal has been found in a distant mountain range. I’m gonna pack up this whole part of the shop and join my brothers and sisters in fighting for it.”
Lucian knew that crafting is basically religion for dwarves. It was a sacred art passed down through generations, and they took great pride in their creations, seeing them as a reflection of their faith and devotion to their craft.
“Seems like you have a lot of rare metals already,” he noted, “Must be quite the catch for you to do all that.”
“Of course, a chance to work with a rare metal I have never used before is my dream. I can’t wait!” Bur exclaimed. Lucian couldn’t help but smile at Bur’s childlike excitement.
“Alright, I guess I’ll find some Arcanite as I wait for you, Bur,” he said. “El, do you want that sword?”
His sister nodded and handed a longsword to him.
Lucian's eyes were instantly drawn to the sword's beauty. The blade was made of a gleaming, reddish metal he'd never seen before. The edges were sharp and smooth, reflecting the dim light in the room, and the crossguard and pommel were made of a darker metal, giving the sword a contrasting look. The handle was wrapped in a soft leather grip, giving a more secure grip.
“Amazing,” he breathlessly admitted.
“Orichalcum. Strong and good with magic, you have a good eye, girl,” Bur explained and pointed at the crossguard. “That’s an enchanted, manmade, metal called shadowsteel. It bends light itself, nothing crazy but just enough that it’ll make your attacks harder to follow and process. That piece is one of my best.”
Eleanor was staring at the sword like a kid staring at a christmas present. Her fists were clenched and shaking in excitement and she was lightly bouncing on her feet. To anyone else, she would look expressionless, but one look into her eyes and Lucian knew that she was amped up to the core.
“How much?” he asked hesitantly, fearing what the answer would be.
Bur studied the two of them for what felt like a long while, stroking his beard. Lucian didn’t know what to say, and Eleanor wasn’t much of a talker to begin with, so they just stood awkwardly and waited for his response.
“Keep it,” Bur said after a while, turning around and walking away.
“Excuse me?” Lucian asked, not believing his ears. Eleanor’s whole body shook in joy as she grabbed the sword from him and happily cradled it.
Bur threw a scabbard at Eleanor, who caught it easily, and walked to another side of the store with Lucian following.
“Ya see, kid. I’m going on a dangerous trip and I might not come back. I might as well give you a freebie. Besides, the sword looks happy with her.”
“Thank you, Bur,” Lucian said as genuinely as he could, bowing slightly.
Bur clicked his tongue and shoved another sword towards him. “Stop with that respect shit and take a look at that, will ya!”
Lucian looked at the sword and almost gasped.
It was a gladius, extremely similar to one he had in his second life as a legionnaire. Lucian took the gladius into his left hand and felt its weight. It was surprisingly light, but still felt sturdy. The blade was basically black and he could tell it was sharp from a mere glance. It had a simple, yet elegant design with a straight blade that tapered to a point. He ran his fingers over the pommel, which was round and smooth, with no extra adornments. It felt good in his hand, like an old friend.
“It’s a different design,” Bur explained, “The shape was designed for-”
“Thrusting,” Lucian interrupted, in a trance over such a familiar weapon.
Despite being cut off, Bur’s grin spread from ear to ear. “Atta boy, thrusting indeed,” he said, “It’s shadowsteel as well, but the purity of the metal is higher, meaning it bends light a lot more than your sisters. I noticed the orichalcum sword was a tad heavy for you after a while. Makes sense given your arms. You walk quiet, damn near silent, and look around for exits the second you walk in a room. Makes me think you’re more of a sneak up or hit and run fighter than a straight up brawler. Figure this would work well for you.”
Holding a gladius again brought back a lot of memories of his second life, but for some reason the swell of memories didn’t make him feel bad like they usually did.
“I can’t take this,” he said after a few moments.
“You don’t like?”
“It’s perfect, but you’ve already given us enough.”
“Lucian, boy. How long have I been making weapons?”
“I think you said eighty years.”
“Yeah, I did. Eighty years. You and your sister are something different, I can tell. The world will constantly try to take from you. The crazy part is that the stronger you become the more it’ll try to take. So, at least once, let the world give something to ya. It’s my gift.”
A gift. He wasn’t used to getting gifts. Before this life, the only gift he had ever received was the stone tipped spear he was given in the jungle. Back then, he could hardly care, but now? Now it felt so profound he could feel his whole body shaking.
A stranger was really so nice? Kindness like this exists in this world?
He was at a loss for words. He looked up at Bur and saw the dwarf watching him with a knowing smile.
“Keep your family safe and find me plenty of Arcanium so I can make that arm of yours!”
All he could do was nod.